B6 S4 Prospective buyer, what to look for?

[Alpinevelo]

Hey gang, I am looking at buying an S4 Avant with high mileage. I'm talking 70K plus...
Incredibly the car is in "as new" shape regarding paint and interiors, they barely have wear marks...
I've never owned a car with so many miles and need to know what to look for regarding the V8 engine and tranny.

I currently have a 2.7T bi-turbo and it's a given that with such engine the timing belt and such are replaced at around 80K miles. At that point the turbos develope some issues as well. So, regarding the V8 S4:

• Do I need to worry about the timing belt? How much to get that done aprox...?
• It has a manual tranny, do I need to look for any specific issues there?
• At point does the clutch go, how much does it cost to replace it?
• How about brakes and rottors mine had to be replaced at 40K and assume will need new at 80...
• Has anyone purchased third party warranty that is actually good?
• Would such car last through at least 2 more years if cared properly?

Thanks in advance..!

[ZachPDX]

[*]Do I need to worry about the timing belt? How much to get that done aprox...?

Its a chain instead of a belt at I think your good to 100k. I haven't heard of anyone needing to replace it even those above 100k.

[*]It has a manual tranny, do I need to look for any specific issues there?

Nothing specific, just normal stuff. Grinds, hard to get into gear etc.

[*]At what does the clutch go, how much does it cost to replace it?

There is a thread on the front page about this I think, some people have as little as 60k some more... depends on the drivers.

[*]How about brakes and rottors mine had to be replaced at 40K and assume will need new at 80...

Sounds about right.

[*]Has anyone purchased third party warranty that is actually good?

Yes. I just came out of my factory warranty and got a 5 year 50k. Having owned german cars in the past you should know to get this.

[*]Would such car last through at least 2 more years if cared properly?

Absolutely! There are a couple people on audiworld.com with 120k plus and no problems. The general census about this car is that it should run forever if properly maintained, half the reason i got it. Im sure ill crack 150k before the next 4 years.


Good luck with the purchase!

[Alpinevelo]

Thanks! That's encouraging... What company did you purchase the warranty from?

[Silver B6 S4]

^^^ Im also interested in who you purchased your's through. The ones i've found seem pretty shady to me.

Alex

[Alpinevelo]

Bump for a suggestion... THX!

[ZachPDX]

Its via EFG. I have had the same company in the past on my TT and they were great.. replaced the drive shaft when i dumped the clutch and snapped it :)

[charliemike]

Link to post about research on 2004s

Your search might differ but it's worth reading anyway.

[pismojeff]

i talked to an Audi repair guy in town and he said the best place to get a third party warranty for the Audis is through a company called National. i got mine straight through Audi

[Ay-Nako]

+1 im in the same boat id LOVE to buy an s4 avant, 02 and up....

[DownhillA4]

I'm currently in the market for an S4 Avant as well... have seen a couple with 80-90k on them (05s) but am un-sure about buying a car with that many miles. Do these V8's hold up well?